OurBiography

Townes Van Zandt was a critically acclaimed folk-country singer/songwriter known for songs like “If I Needed You,” “Loretta” and “To Live’s to Fly.”

Synopsis

Townes Van Zandt, born on March 7, 1944, in Fort Worth, Texas, became a touring singer/songwriter whose storytelling on albums like For the Sake of the Song and Our Mother the Mountain won acclaim. An underground figure who struggled with drug abuse, Van Zandt saw his tunes "Pancho and Lefty" and "If I Needed You" become hits. Recording for almost three decades, he died on January 1, 1997, in Smyrna, Texas.

Background

Acclaimed country/folk singer and songwriter John Townes Van Zandt was born on March 7, 1944, in Fort Worth, Texas. He moved around quite a bit during his childhood due to his family's oil business, and during adolescent faced major emotional and mental health challenges, being diagnosed with manic depression and institutionalized.

Later citing Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan as major influences on his work, Van Zandt decided to pursue singing and songwriting, taking up the guitar at 15 and continuing to ply his craft while a student at the University of Colorado. He later relocated to Houston and worked as a live performer, influenced by the likes of blues great Lightnin' Hopkins and forming lasting connections with country singer/songwriter Guy Clark.

Acclaimed Albums

After recording in Nashville, Van Zandt released his debut album For the Sake of the Song in 1968 and over the next few years offered up a steady stream of releases: Our Mother the Mountain (1969), Townes Van Zandt (1969), Delta Momma Blues (1971), High Low and In Between and The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (both 1972).

He released a couple of more albums during the late '70s, including Flyin' Shoes (1978), and didn't offer any new recordings for almost ten years. Then throughout the late '80s to '90s, he put forth several new works, with 1995's No Deeper Blue, made in Ireland, being the last album he recorded.

Influential Song-Maker, Hard Life

Van Zandt's music is characterized by moody folk textures, vividly engaging storytelling and his emotionally resonant voice, leading to rounds and rounds of critical acclaim from those in the know and his status as a major influencer of traditional/alt country. He became a mentor of sorts to Steve Earle, and during the '80s his tune "Pancho and Lefty" became a chart topper for Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, while Emmylou Harris and Don Williams had a hit with their version of "If I Needed You."

Yet Van Zandt never enjoyed major popularity himself, with the musician stating that's not what he was after. He remained a wandering, perennially touring figure and abused drugs and alcohol for decades, which affected the quality of his live performances.

Tribute and Documentary

After receiving an operation for a broken hip, Van Zandt suffered a heart attack and died on January 1, 1997, in Smyrna, Tennessee. Posthumous anthologies and previously unreleased recordings were put forth along with In the Beginning… (2003), a collection of 1966 demos.

Van Zandt's songs have continued to be covered by a range of artists, and Earle released a tribute album, Townes, in 2009. Filmmaker Margaret Brown also helmed the 2005 documentary Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt.